Lowell/ Hamptons Legal

[LittleAlf]

I wonder if someone could advise me?

 

I ran up a £3000 overdraft on my HSBC Switch card back in 1999 while at uni. When I finished uni HSBC asked for it all back straight away, but as I was not working at that time I could not afford the repayments and became temporarily homeless. When I was back on my feet in 2001, I contacted HSBC who said it had been so long they had given up on tracing the debt.

 

In July 2006 I got a letter from Lowell saying they were in charge of collecting it. I called Lowell (I still have the name of the agent) to make sure this was the case and was told that it was. As I was moving house at that time and could not afford to get a black mark on my credit file I agreed to pay off what I could afford-£10 a month. An agreement I have kept to ever since.

 

Now I am receiving letters from Lowell saying that I am not paying, although I actually am, also, they say they have now passed my debt on to Hamptons legal and that they are recommending CCJ's, bailiffs etc..

 

After reading on your forum I now know that Lowell and Hamptons are the same company. I also know that calling debt collectors is a bad idea so have not contacted them at-all. I did however, call HSBC who passed me on to Metropolitan Collections who knew nothing about my case and whether HSBC had actualy passed it on to Lowell/ Hamptons.

 

What should I do? If I owe the money I will pay it, but have other debts I need to pay off in addition. And, why don't they recognise I am paying and have not defaulted?

 

I would be really thankful for any advice anyone can give.

 

Thanks,

 

Alf

[harrassed senior]

Hi and welcome, prior to July 2006, was there a clear period of at least 6 years (5 in Scotland) that no payments were made on this account.

[LittleAlf]

Oh, wow...So, I'll just a write a letter to that effect and hopefully that'll be an end to it? Thank you! A weight off my mind.

[Bazooka Boo]

This reeks of fraud IMO!!!

I hope that this is SB, £600 is what you will have paid lowlifes to date, report them to the OFT&TS via http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/UsefulContactsByCategory/Governmentcitizensandrightscontacts/DG_195948

[LittleAlf]

Nice one, thanks for that! I'm going to send that letter tomorrow and see what happens....Reporting will be my next step! Cheers, Alf

[LittleAlf]

I've written a draft letter to Lowell-Would anyone mind reading it to make sure it makes sense, and, if so, is it safe to post on a public forum like this?

 

Thanks!

 

Alf

[Bazooka Boo]

Is it just the SB template?

[LittleAlf]

No, it's free form, as it addresses their statement that I have not been paying...

[Bazooka Boo]

Post it up if you like, but I very much doubt they will read it, least of all respond to it with any of the questions answered.

[LittleAlf]

Here it is......

 

"Re: Letter Dated 15th April

 

Dear Mr Bartle,

 

Thank you for your recent letter regarding the sum of £2508 which you are seeking to collect.

 

The letter alleges that I have not attempted to repay this sum. This is incorrect: I have paid the requested £10 per month without fail by standing order since my conversation with your collection agent on 20th of July 2006. I am happy to provide you with proof of these payments upon request.

 

However, following your letter I have took legal advice regarding your right to collect the sum in question and have found that the debt is, in fact, statute barred as you attempted to enforce this debt over six years from the date from which it was last acknowledged, by a part payment from myself (1999). This debt may not be revived even though I subsequently paid a monthly amount to yourselves.

 

In addition, I was originally advised by HSBC that this debt had been written off and confirmed the fact during a recent call to the same bank.

 

For this reason, I politely request that you cease attempting to collect the above sum and that you kindly refund my payments forthwith.

 

Despite sadly being misled by your collection agent, I am attempting to settle this matter amicably. If this is not possible, I shall be obliged to take the matter to the FOS/ OFT/ TS

 

Please note, a copy of this letter and all of your previous communications have been saved for future reference if needed.

 

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

 

Yours sincerely,

[LittleAlf]

Does the below letter look ok to some of you more experienced consumer folks?! Cheers, Alf

[Bazooka Boo]

Dear Mr Bartle,

 

Thank you for your recent letter dated DD/MM/YYYY, the contents of which have been noted.

Your accusations that I have failed to attempt to repay this amount are incorrect, this led me to seek legal advice and as such, I am now pleased to inform you of the following.

 

I would point out that under the limitation act 1980 Section 5 “an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.”

 

I will also point out that the OFT say under their debt collection Guidance on statute barred debt that “it is unfair to pursue the debt if the debtor has heard nothing from the creditor during the relevant limitation period”.

 

Prior to the phone conversation on the 20th July 2006 in which your employee knowingly misled me and forced payment from me under duress, there had been no payment or acknowledgement from myself with the limitation period.

 

Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from me in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, I suggest that you are no longer able to take any court action against me to recover the alleged amount claimed.

 

The OFT Debt Collection Guidance states further that “continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to CPUTR2008

 

I await your written confirmation that this matter is now closed and that no further contact will be made concerning the above account after that last letter.

 

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your rapacious letter, if you had not informed me, I would have continued with my misinformed payments.

 

Regards,

 

(PRINT NAME)

 

Edit to suit, PLEASE check the dates are correct as I am assuming, that you, DID NOT pay them anything from 1999, UNTIL 2006?

Since then you have been paying them £10 a month?

 

If that is correct, then it is up to them to show you evidence that this is not SB, any of the payments from 2006 onwards WILL NOT reset the SB clock, these will simply be seen as "a gift", but I would reclaim that back off them (£600).

[LittleAlf]

That is a brilliant letter! Much better than mine, so thank you..

 

Although my memory of that period is pretty sketchy due to the circumstances I was in, the last possible payment I could have made to them was when the restaurant I was working in went bust in Feb 2000 and I subsequently found myself jobless and houseless.

 

The last time I spoke to HSBC prior to Lowell contacting me was June 2000 when I was briefly doing live-in work in a pub in Camden.

 

Following my conversation with Lowell, I have paid £10 on the 1st of every month (first payment Aug 1 2006) by standing order.

 

I'm going to print your letter out when I get to work and send it. Your help has been invaluable.

 

Alf

[LittleAlf]

Well, it's taken two weeks approximately (although letter is dated 6th May) , but I finally got a response to the letter that Bazooka Boo helped me with. (Sent pretty much word for word apart from the last paragraph with the word 'rapacious'. I wasn't sure Lowell would understand that bit.....!) It's a very strange response and makes little sense to me. It reads:

 

'We confirm that your account remains legally enforceable by us and is not statute barred as suggested in your letter. This is because you made a payment in relation to this account on 4th May 2011 of £10. Under the Limitation Act 1980, where we have a legal right to recover the outstanding debt and you make a payment towards the debt due, this has the effect of re-starting the period during which we are able to legally enforce a debt.....If we have not had contact in the next 14 days, your account will be transferred to our debt collection agent Lowell Financial'

 

I am confused for the following reasons:

 

1) I have been making regular monthly payments of £10 since Aug 2006, yet the letter treats my payment of 4/5/11 as though it was my first ever payment

2) As I have only made payments outside of the 6 year enforcibility window (debt last acknowledged in 1999, Lowell contacted me in July 2006) this payment of 4/5/2011 (by standing order) or any other payment prior, surely ought not to affect the fact that the debt is statute barred

3) They are threatening to pass my account on to Lowell Financial, yet all the letters I have previously received (apart from one from Hamptons Legal) have been from Lowell (as was the letter I quote above)

 

What should I do? Should I cancel my Standing Order and go ahead and report them?

 

This letter is so bizarre, I can't decide whether they've gone mad or I have!

 

Any help most appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Alf

[unclebulgaria67]

If you definately had a 6 year period of not paying or acknowledging the debt, then I would write to Lowell by recorded pointing out this and advising that you have cancelled the standing order on this basis.

 

The issue for you is that Lowell probably don't have the HSBC account information, so they don't know it was SB'd. It is up to them to prove they can enforce the debt, but they won't bother, as they can just harass on the basis that they just think they are right without the evidence.

 

Send their letter back, with a covering letter marked complaint, addressed to their Complaints Resolution team, pointing out the error that they are making.

[LittleAlf]

Thanks Uncle Bulgaria!

[Bazooka Boo]

PLEASE FORGET sending them anything by recorded delivery, it's a waste of money, all you legally require is "Proof of posting"

 

As you are pretty certain that their has been a 6 year window where you have not acknowledged or paid anything toward this, then they are talking bowlarks, the ONLY response to this letter should be to demand their complaints procedure, inform them that you dispute their claims, and that you have informed the OFT, TS, FOS, your MP, and the Media as they ARE attempting to pursue a statute barred debt.

 

I wouldn't even teach them the law surrounding the limitation act, once a debt becomes SB it can NEVER become unbarred, that is their foolish look out. You have them by the short & curlies, especially if they have been placing adverse data on your credit file.....you have been keeping a close eye on your credit file haven't you??

[LittleAlf]

Thanks Bazooka Boo. I feel like I may be in for a telling off, as I haven't actually seen my credit file since about 2006...I'll order a copy now though. As for the six year thing: There was definitely a six year period during which that debt was not acknowledged by myself, so I will be complaining. I'll let you know how it goes (and whether there is any adverse info on my credit file when I get it too.) And, while I'm at it, I may as well try and claim the £600 I've already paid them back as well. Cheers, Alf

[cerberusalert]

If these Leeds urchins give you any more grief make a complaint to your local Trading Standards.

 

The onus is on them to prove a debt exists, what payments have been made & the manner of payment. The fact that they are trying to assert you have made payments when you did not is a breach of OFT guidelines.

[LittleAlf]

They really are a nightmare, but it's thanks to you guys that I've finally got the bottle to fight 'em. Wish I'd done it ages ago.

[cerberusalert]

It's a grubby industry that preys on ignorance and fear.

[count orlok]

Rapacious is a very good description of them and the way they act, you should have left it in. Unfortunatly Little Alf the money you paid them since 2006 will be seen as a gift. Unless they commited some kind of fraud in order to get it; them just saying you owe them money is not fraud. It is for you to check that anyone asking you for money has the right to do so.

[LittleAlf]

Cool, thank you both for the advice-To be honest, just to get them to leave me alone would be the biggest bonus.

[LittleAlf]

Well, I've got a reply off Lowell who have said they have put my account on hold and are contacting HSBC for 'further information...' Let see what occurs from here. I'll keep you all informed, however, it could be a bit of a wait as they 4-8 weeks to provide a response...

 

Alf

[count orlok]

You'll probably find they come up with an attempted payment or payment by on of your agents'. It will be a load of tosh.